Jean Sincere

For some thespians, once the acting bug bites, it never releases its fangs. Such was the case with veteran actress Jean Sincere, who virtually disappeared from film and TV work for three decades before returning to play memorable bit parts on the small and big screens. After studying theater in her youth, Sincere quickly graduated to the infant medium of television. Her first TV appearance (a 1949 episode of "The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse") came at a time when the technology was still new and very few households owned TV sets. The following year, Sincere made the first of what would be three appearances on a similar omnibus program, "Lux Video Theatre." In 1956, she had a daughter, Francesca Zambello, who would grow up to be a respected theater and opera director. Sincere retreated from acting for over 30 years, popping up only sporadically in small roles. In the mid-1980s, however, she began taking more parts, and before long she was working steadily. Her numerous TV appearances after her long hiatus included cameo parts in the female boarding school comedy "The Facts of Life" (1985) and the high school musical misfit saga "Glee" (2010). In film, Sincere had a small role in the comedic 1987 Cyrano de Bergerac update, "Roxanne," and she did a memorable voice turn as an elderly insurance customer in the Pixar superhero comedy "The Incredibles" (2004).